Van Halen in Montello, Nevada?

Admittedly, my last blog post was a bit more fringe than previous posts. Without any further boundary testing from my keyboard, I'll suggest you listen to an old favorite band of mine...Van Halen. Friday nights in high school meant Van Halen cranked up beyond loud in the back of Matt's Toyota Celica as we cruised around Tallahassee thinking we were cool....and I'm pretty sure we were....and Travis definitely was!

We would all sing every word of every song from every album, cassette, CD, MP3 (pick your decade) that was selected from the music case. A couple years ago I was reflecting on those times and decided to dust off OU812. I found myself once again singing songs word for word that I hadn't listened to in many, many years. Then, I came upon “mine all mine”. I knew every word of every line, but I never knew what they said. I found solace in this song that night and still do today and did once again after writing the last blog post. Everyday I make measurable progress towards the Montello dream of independence, it is another day that feels like “mine all mine.” Take a listen if you have a minute. I'll bet the lyrics will ring true on some level, even if you don't enjoy a screaming guitar!

Enjoy.

http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#van%20halen%20mine%20all%20mine

lyrics

Ow! Forgive me father, for I have sinned
I've been through hell and back again
I shook hands with the devil
Looked 'im in the eye
Looked like a long lost friend

Ow-ah, anything you want, any dirty deeds
He's got everything 'cept what I really need
Keepin' me temporarily satisfied
But not one thing I've tried
Filled me up inside or felt like mine
Mine all mine

Yeah, the search goes on
The more I look, my world keeps gettin' smaller
Staring at the sun, searchin' for the light
Almost ended up blind Some only see what they wanna see
Claiming victory, oh but that's not me
Gimme truth, gimme somethin' real
I just wanna feel like it's mine all mine

(Ooh-ooo-ooh)
Ooh-oo-ooh, really mine
(Mine all mine)
Come on, 'n gimme somethin'
(Ooh-oo-ooh)
Somethin', that's mine all mine all mine

(Guitar Solo)

Mine all mine

All the words on the wall look the same in the mirror
Every riddle and every clue
Ow, you've got Allah in the east
You've got Jesus in the west
Christ, what's a man to do?

They'll find a cure for anything
Just kill the pain or numb my brain
We see a man speakin' the word of God
Provin' to be a fraud. his own church applauds
Stop lookin' out, start lookin' in
Be your own best friend
Stand up and say "Hey! This is mine!"

(Ooh-oo-ooh)
Ooh, all mine
(Mine all mine)
Yeah
'N baby you've got somethin'
(Ooh-oo-ooh)
Uh! An', and I got somethin'
(Mine all mine)
Hey, and it's mine all mine all mine

Uh!
(Mine all mine)
Ooooh!
(Mine all mine)
Yes, I'm searchin'
(Mine all mine)
Uh-I got to have it
(Mine all mine)
Oooh ow!
(Mine all mine)
Well
(Mine all mine)
Got ta, got ta, got to
(Mine all mine)
Got to have it. Ow!
(Mine all mine)
Uh! Uh! Uh!
(Mine all mine)
You got! You got! You got! You got!
Mine all mine

Makes me wonder how many of us (especially me) are so close to something and just don't see it. Am I still that high school kid who had a version of life sang to him and sang it for others so many times, but still didn't hear? In a lifetime or so, what will I look back on that I am doing or thinking today and find myself stunned at how available things were to me, but I was unable to grasp. As long as I can say it was “mine all mine”, then I'm good.